The BBC is looking to kick out against the “crushing competition” of global SVOD services including Netflix and Amazon as it eyes a reboot of its aborted digital service Project Kangaroo and steps up its PR war against Silicon Valley.

It has emerged that the British public broadcaster is once again in talks with rival broadcasters including ITV and Channel 4, as well as Hollywood studio NBC Universal, to launch its own UK streaming service to fight back against the deep-pocketed digital players.

Move - Years - Project - Kangaroo - Video-on-demand

The move comes nearly ten years after Project Kangaroo, a planned video-on-demand between the broadcasters and the BBC’s commercial arm, was blocked by the British Competition Commission.

However, with Netflix now having over 8M subscribers in the country and Amazon Prime Video over 4M, and with the looming launch of Apple’s A-list original programming plans, the broadcasters are looking to bounce back.

Salvo - BBC - Battle - Rivals

This is merely the latest salvo in the BBC’s battle with its digital rivals.

BBC Director General Tony Hall has warned on a number of occasions that the broadcaster is struggling to compete on a global level. In March, shortly before the BBC admitted that young people are spending more time watching Netflix than all of its TV services each week, he said that it needed to “accelerate reform” as it faces a “David vs. Goliath” fight. He admitted that the BBC is “not the biggest kid on the block anymore”. “We can see now, more clearly than ever, that the global media landscape is likely to be dominated by four, perhaps five, businesses on the West Coast of America,” he told staff.

Broadcaster - Programming - Remarks - Week - BBC

The broadcaster has recently been sending some of its top programming execs out to echo these remarks. Last week, BBC Two boss Patrick Holland unveiled an ambitious slate of shows including dramas from Riz Ahmed and The Fall...